11 Creative Ways to Use Laundry Baskets

Laundry Basket Skateboard

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Nothing is more creative than the imagination of a couple of young boys. While you may not want to strap your laundry basket to a skateboard and don a watermelon helmet, there are still plenty of ways you can put those plastic laundry baskets to work around the house.

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Temporary Pet Carrier

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This trick takes two laundry baskets, one turned upside down on top of another. Simply twist-tie them together to make a temporary pet carrier. You'll have the best finished product if the baskets are the same size.

The temporary carrier works great for transporting an injured native animal to a rescue clinic.

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Snow Sled

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In the South snow often come unexpectedly, as well as, infrequently. A plastic laundry basket makes a great sled for kids. Hook a rope to the basket for pulling, the kids' clothes will stay relatively dry, and they will have a bit of support to hold on to as they go up and down hills.

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Beach Tote

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Headed to the beach or lake? Load up a laundry basket with towels and swimsuits and water accessories. You'll have everything together and a place to put wet suits and towels on the way home. Plus, it's easy to rinse away the sand from a plastic basket!

After the season, the laundry basket can be used to store all the water and beach items together until the next season.

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Baby Bathtub

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Here's another oldie but goodie from our baby tending days. A plastic laundry basket makes a great bathtub support when the baby is old enough to sit up.

Lower the basket into a bathtub filled with several inches of water and put the baby inside. The tub water can flow in and out; toys stay close at hand and there are easy-to-grip sides when​ their balance is still a little unsteady.

Even after babies are old enough to use the full tub, you can use a small laundry basket to hold toys. The water drains away and it's easy to lift out the toys when you need to clean the tub.

A laundry basket also makes an easy to move portable crib for a very young baby.

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Garden Helper

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Turn a laundry basket over delicate plants during a late freeze, heavy rains or hailstorm. Remember to remove the basket when the danger has passed so sunlight can restore the plant.

A plastic laundry basket is perfect for collecting weeds and clippings as you work in the yard. It holds plenty of clippings; is lightweight and can be easily rinsed out. In the winter, use the basket to store tools and hoses.

Reusable Grocery Bag

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Keep an empty laundry basket in your car to use as a "grocery bag". You can load the unstructured plastic bags into the basket in the parking lot straight from your grocery cart. When you get home, make just one trip inside with your basket and you're done!

Housekeeping Helper

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If your house is like ours, items seem to migrate from room to room never to return to their proper place. Start on one end of the house with a laundry basket and put everything in that room that needs to be put away in another room in the basket. Move from room to room, putting items in the basket. This is especially helpful for a two-story house.

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Party Cooler

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For a quick party cooler, line a laundry basket with a heavy-duty trash bag and fill with ice and beverages. Use two different basket colors, one for soft drinks and one for adult beverages.

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Toy Storage

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Laundry baskets are perfect for storing everything but the very smallest toy pieces. By using different colors, your child can learn to sort different kinds of toys - stuffed animals in blue, blocks in white, cars in green.

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Travel Tote

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If you rent a cabin or beach house for a week, you must often provide your own linens. Rather than pack them in a suitcase, use a laundry basket. After the beds are freshly made, you have a laundry tote to bring home the dirty linens and clothes.